Customer Reviews Merrell Waterpro Maipo

Great Shoe with a Big Design Flaw - Let me start by saying I love this shoe. It is lightweight, comfortable and great in and out of the water. This shoe would be a home run except for one big design problem. The criss cross webbing frays at the spots where it rubs against the black nylon guidelines. Every step you take causes the webbing to rub against these lines particularly in the mid sole area. Both my brother and I experienced this fraying problem within one week of wearing the shoes. At various websites, I have seen others complain about this.

I purchased this shoe and the Waterpro Ottawa. Go with the Ottawa, it is much better quality. The elastic bands that hold on to the shoe strings make it difficult to really tighten this shoe. Go with the Ottawa, unless this shoe was on sale.

Major Design Flaws - I purchased these shoes about 6 months ago and they've already completely worn out. The webbing straps rub against the laces as well the cording that runs the length of the shoe, causing fraying. At first this rubbing made the shoe squeak with each step, which was mostly just annoying. Now the webbing has broken in the same spot on both shoes (where it crosses the cording at the arch.) Both times, it's happened while I was out someplace, and I had to tie the ends together in order to go about my day. I've had to keep wearing these because I can't afford to replace them, and now the strap and laces are starting to wear through where they cross. Looks like I'll have to find the money somewhere because now I can't afford NOT to replace them. I don't wear this shoe in the water nor would I want to. Every time I step on smooth, wet surface, I slip. I owned the previous version if this shoe, and it didn't have either of these problems. Changes to the design did NOT improve this item.

Love and hate - This is not a "bad" review because I do like the shoes. But there are a few things that make me regret getting them. The Good: Great breathability and draining. You can wear them with socks without the dorky socks sandals look. Great styling, can wear hiking or at the office. That's what I like the most about these, you can wear them everyday with almost anything, doing almost anything. Pull them off after 12 hours and my feet aren't that sweaty or stinky...impressive for my nasty feet. The Bad: The nylon liner was giving me hot-spots without sock. But you can tighten the shoes with the webbing to minimize this. Also, after trying running in them, I'm sticking to my real running shoes. There isn't that much support or padding, but would be OK for nasty trail running, not good for path or concrete. The breathability will cost you in dry sand. You'll have to take them off after walking on the beach to pour out a cup of sand. The ugly: Squeaking!!! My left shoe won't stop squeaking. It is so loud that it ends up being a conversation topic with most anyone walking next to me. If this wasn't bad, I wouldn't have bothered to write this review. The crisscross webbing is starting to fray after a month. I must have scraped it against a rock right where the plastic ring below the pull adjustment is. It sticks out and is in a vulnerable spot. It's not broken yet, but it looks like it won't be long. Maybe I got a squeaky pair and my strap won't break. Everything else is no big deal if you're OK with that. It might be worth a buy if you get them from Zappos, with their return policy. Good luck.